Magnusson v. Friends of the E-Line Canal ( 2015 )

 Arguments raised for the first time on appeal are waived
Magnusson, the Wheelers, and Churchill County raise for the
first time on appeal the argument that the United States lacked a
conveyable rights-of-way interest in the E-Line canal roads. They also
raise for the first time on appeal the argument that the United States
impermissibly altered the easement over the E-Line canal roads. Thus,
these arguments are deemed to have been waived and cannot provide a
basis to reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment. See Old
Aztec Mine, Inc. v. Brown, 97 Nev. 49, 52, 623 P.2d 981, 983 (1981) ("A
point not urged in the trial court, unless it goes to the jurisdiction of that
court, is deemed to have been waived and will not be considered on
appeal.").
The district court did not err in granting summary judgment
Summary judgment is proper if the "pleadings and other
evidence on file demonstrate that no genuine issue [of] material fact
[exists] and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of
law." Wood, 121 Nev. at 729, 121 P.3d at 1029 (internal quotations
omitted). "Contract interpretation strives to discern and give effect to the
parties' intended meaning." Galardi v. Naples Polaris, LLC, 129 Nev.
Adv. Op. No. 33, 301 P.3d 364, 367 (2013). "[W]e construe unambiguous
contracts . .. according to their plain language." Sheehan & Sheehan v.
Nelson Malley & Co., 121 Nev. 481, 487-88, 117 P.3d 219, 223-24 (2005).
Magnusson, the Wheelers, and Churchill County argue that
the district court erred in finding that a 1991 agreement transferring land
and land interests from the United States to Churchill County included
easements over the E-Line canal roads. However, as the complete written
agreement between the United States and Churchill County is not
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included in the appellate record, we must presume that the missing
portions of this document support the district court's decision and do not
establish a genuine issue of material fact. See Cuzze v. Univ. & Cmty.
Coll. Sys. of Nev., 123 Nev. 598, 603, 172 P.3d 131, 135 (2007) ("When an
appellant fails to include necessary documentation in the record, we
necessarily presume that the missing portion supports the district court's
decision."). Here, the plain language of the portions of the agreement
between the United States and Churchill County that are included in the
record do not create a genuine issue of material fact. The recital of the
agreement states that m[p]roject rights-of-war are "land and land rights"
that the United States has acquired through its construction of the
Newlands Project, of which the E-Line canal roads are a part. The
agreement then states that
[t]he United States hereby grants, conveys, and
consents to the County for the use as County
rights-of-way the Project rights-of-way shown on
the drawing attached hereto, made a part hereof
and marked Exhibit "A."
(Footnote added.) The parties do not dispute that the drawing attached to
the agreement contains the E-Line canal road easements or that
easements are a form of land rights. See Boyd v. McDonald, 81 Nev. 642,
647, 408 P.2d 717, 720 (1965) ("An easement is a right, distinct from
ownership, to use in some way the land of another." (internal quotations
omitted)). Therefore, by its express terms, the agreement transfers the E-
lAs this portion of the agreement is also not included in the
appellate record, we rely on the district court's quotation of portions of the
agreement in its decision.
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Line canal road easements from the United States to Churchill County for
use as county rights-of-way.
Thus, the district court did not err in finding that Magnusson,
the Wheelers, and Churchill County failed to identify a genuine issue of
material fact. We therefore
ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.
J.
J.
Gibbons
Pie J.
Pickering
cc: Chief Judge, The Tenth Judicial District
Hon. Charles M. McGee, Senior Judge
Carolyn Worrell, Settlement Judge
Churchill County District Attorney/Fallon
Law Offices of Michael B. Springer
David Kalo Neidert
Martin G. Crowley
Churchill County Clerk
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